Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Here's Why Helen of Troy (HELE) is Up More Than 35% in a Year

Read MoreHide Full Article

Helen of Troy Limited (HELE - Free Report) is well positioned on the back of its robust growth-oriented strategies. In this regard, the company’s focus on Leadership Brands, sturdy digital efforts and robust Transformation Plan bode well.

Apart from these factors, the company is witnessing strong demand in the Health & Home segment on the back of increased sales of thermometers due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation. Impressively, the abovementioned upsides favorably impacted fourth-quarter fiscal 2020 results, with the top and the bottom line increasing year over year.

Encouragingly, shares of the Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) company have gained 35.6% in the past year against the industry’s decline of 20.7%.



Factors Narrating Helen of Troy’s Growth Story

Helen of Troy is focused on making solid investments in its “Leadership Brands,” which is a portfolio of market leading brands. Brands in this portfolio, including Braun, PUR and Vicksas well as parts of OXO and Honeywell, are positioned well to enhance market share. These brands account for a significant chunk of the company’s sales, which generate solid margins and volumes.

During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, sales from Leadership Brands increased 15.7%. Notably, management is on track with investments in product launches, marketing efforts and e-commerce strategies for Leadership Brands. In fact, the company made another move in this direction, when it acquired Drybar Products in January 2020.

Further, Helen of Troy is gaining from its consistent online sales and digital marketing efforts. Notably, online sales advanced nearly 39% year over year in the fiscal fourth quarter and contributed around 24% to the company’s top line. Management is on track to make investments in this arena to keep pace with the evolving consumer environment. In fact, the company is persistently augmenting its digital presence through sophisticated marketing plans and improved content.

Moving on, Helen of Troy concluded Phase I of its multi-year transformation plan and is on track with Phase II, which is expected to drive growth for the next five years. The fiscal fourth quarter marked the successful completion of the first year of Phase II of its Transformation plan that contributed positively to the company’s results. Phase II of the plan includes continued investments in Leadership Brands, with plans to grow the same through customer-friendly innovations, international expansion and acquisitions.

All said, we believe that the company’swell-knit growth strategies will continue driving its performance.

Other Solid Consumer Staple Bets

Church Dwight (CHD - Free Report) , with a Zacks Rank #2, has a long-term earnings growth rate of 8.2%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Campbell Soup Company (CPB - Free Report) , with a Zacks Rank #2, has a long-term earnings growth rate of 8.3%.

Nu Skin Enterprises (NUS - Free Report) , with a Zacks Rank #2, has a long-term earnings growth rate of 1.7%.

5 Stocks Set to Double

Each was hand-picked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2020. Each comes from a different sector and has unique qualities and catalysts that could fuel exceptional growth.

Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.

Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>

Published in